Story Highlights

After suffering his first career loss in his rematch with Mike Alvarado in March, Brandon Rios thought all his hard work leading up to that moment was lost.

Rios, nicknamed "Bam-Bam" for his take-no-prisoners fighting style, felt he'd lost his place in line for a big-money fight. He would have to start over, he thought, likely taking a talked-about pay-per-view fight against Manny Pacquiao off the table.

But the boxing gods intervened. Alvarado needed surgery on his right hand, which was injured while fighting Rios. Timothy Bradley, who had won one of the most controversial decisions of all time against the Filipino, turned down a rematch with Pacquiao. So did Juan Manuel Marquez, who had shockingly knocked Pacquiao out last December. Bradley and Marquez then signed to fight each other.

Suddenly, Rios, 28, was back in the game. His manager, Cameron Dunkin, considered one of the best in the business, worked out a deal with Top Rank's Todd duBoef and Rios found himself right where he believes he was meant to be: In the middle of one of the biggest global boxing events of the year.

Rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs) will take on Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs), the fighting congressman from the Philippines who is coming off consecutive losses to Bradley and Marquez. The welterweight fight, Rios' first at 147 pounds, is expected to be an all-action affair, the kind that has been so prevalent in boxing this year.

What makes this one different is that it will take place on Sunday morning at the Venetian Resort and Casino in Macau, China, and will be aired live on HBO pay-per-view (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET).

This, says Rios, is the fight he's always wanted, and those who think he's not ready for a fighter of Pacquiao's pedigree will be proven wrong.

"It's my time now," he told USA TODAY Sports by phone recently. "I'm not getting any younger, so why not take the opportunity. I've been fighting all my life — 20 years, since I was eight years old. If you're not ready to jump the ship and take on the next level, then you shouldn't be in the ring.

"I don't think I should be holding back now."

Holding back has never been a problem for Rios. He never did while growing up in Garden City, Kan., and it often landed him in trouble. Fighting, stealing, being booted out of school, constantly being arrested. Everyone seemed to be down on young Brandon except for his father, Manuel, who stood by his son through good times and bad, and early on recognized his kid's future in boxing.

"My dad had to work hard. But all that work, all that dedication, all that wanting to get out of the ghetto, to get out from the problems, to get away from stressing about living day-to-day, check-to-check, that helped me a lot," Rios said. "My dad supports me 100 percent. No matter what I do, he will support me."

Yes, Manuel Rios will be there to support his son in far-off Macau. "When I won my first world title, he was there with me. Now I'm in the biggest fight of my life and he's going to be there with me," Rios said. "It's always a blessing to see my father with me because he deserves it as much as I do."

He will not hold back against Pacquiao, and he has the sport's trainer of the year, Robert Garcia, setting up his game plan to defeat the future Hall of Famer.

Brandon Rios discusses his personal backstory and why he is ready for this fight. Pacquiao vs. Rios happens Sat., Nov. 23 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT.

Asked if he would change his approach against Pacquiao, Rios, a former lightweight beltholder who has twice lost titles on the scale, said, "Yes, I'm going to fight a smarter way. We have a great game plan going into the fight, and I've been executing it very well with the sparring partners. Robert's very pleased with it, I'm very pleased with it, and there will be a different Brandon.

"I'm still going to fight the same way but smarter."

But Pacquiao has an ace up his sleeve, too — Freddie Roach, a five-time trainer of the year, who has trained his top fighter for more than a decade.

"This was the happiest and most productive camp I have had with Manny in years," Roach said this week from Macau. "I know I predicted that Manny would knock Rios out inside six rounds but based on our last workout, I don't see how Rios makes it past the fourth round."

Yet, Pacquiao, 34, has not knocked out an opponent in more than four years, while Rios has never been stopped. He has been down only twice, both in the first round of a fight early in his career. But he got up and came back to knock that guy out. That's Rios' mantra: Take a punch and come back to deliver two.

Critics have said Rios is not quick enough to overcome Pacquiao's innate ability to come at his opponents from different angles with lightning-quick punches that many vanquished opponents said they never saw coming. Rios says he won't fall into that trap.

"When I fought Miguel Acosta, I wasn't quick, and Miguel Acosta was tremendously fast. I took him out in the 10th round, I stopped him," Rios said. "You can always defeat quickness. There's ways to counter it. When I fought Acosta I did counter his punches a lot, and I practiced a lot for that quickness. There's different ways to cut the ring off in a smarter way and be prepared for that."

But here was Rios, once again answering critics, something he's had to do his entire career.

"It's okay, there's always going to be criticism out there, there is criticism for everything I do," he said. "I don't have a problem with that. It actually motivates me even more. And it gives me the (motivation) to prove everybody wrong. When I fight the best, they always bring the best out of me."

WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia, who trains with Rios and his brother Robert, thinks this will be a seminal moment for Rios' career. Pacquiao will be his toughest opponent, but Mikey Garcia knows his friend well and believes Rios can win.

"I'm not just saying this because he's my buddy and we train together," Garcia told USA TODAY Sports. "I see Brandon as stronger, more motivated. I see him in his prime, and I don't see Pacquiao in the same stage of his career right now.

"Pacquiao five or six years ago was a tremendous fighter with speed, the hunger, the fire, power, everything.

"Now, he hasn't performed as well, and especially coming off a knockout against Marquez, that doesn't go away. Very, very few fighters can overcome a knockout loss like that and be as good or better than before the loss."

Preview one of the most anticipated action fights of the year. Pacquiao vs. Rios happens Sat., Nov. 23 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT.

Garcia says it won't just come down to who's quicker.

"It's not just about the quickness, it's about the resilience of Brandon," Garcia said. "In the first four or five rounds, Manny might have the advantage over him with speed and ability to jump in and out with combinations.

"But the last couple fights you've seen Manny start to tire down and cramp in his legs. Brandon will pick up the pace after the fifth, sixth round and start to put pressure on him more and more. ... He'll start hurting Manny one punch at a time and it will eventually add up.

"I think Brandon can actually stop him in the ninth, 10th round or so."

Robert Garcia upped the ante even further.

"Twice during the two episodes of (HBO's) 24/7 I've heard Freddie Roach say he will ask Manny Pacquiao to retire if he loses to Brandon Rios," Garcia said. "Well, Freddie had better buy that gold watch for Manny, because the retirement party begins on Saturday night. I guarantee you this will be the last time you ever see Manny Pacquiao on an HBO pay-per-view."